


Nomenclature

by Aphelyon



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Archaeology, M/M, Space Archaeologists AU, Space Archaeology, Spelunking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-04 03:57:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16339373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aphelyon/pseuds/Aphelyon
Summary: Dr. Hugh Culber is a renown Xenoarchaeologist at the head of the sectors most thriving dig-site. When conducting scans on an unearthed cave system they find it impenetrable so they must go to map and investigate the area. Unexpectedly his head Xenopaleomycologist and Biologist, Dr. Paul Stamets, volunteers to go with him. What will they find in the unknown that awaits them?





	1. Induction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [30MinuteLoop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/30MinuteLoop/gifts).



> Dedicated to @30MinuteLoop. I originally wrote this for her and it was supposed to only be like... maybe 1500 words. Well, it kind of evolved. Oops. We both were inspired by the same collection of notes so we have similarities in our work. Please check out her wonderful and sweet sweet story, too: Field Methods in Orphean Archaeology. 
> 
> Inspired also by @TheWatch and her idea - who also very kindly was such an incredible Beta reader, helping breathe new life into this story. I am deeply appreciative.

 

 

 

 

Everything looked the same. Time had been suspended in a haze of monotony and silence as the two men made their way deeper into the cave system, traversing through the long winding dark tunnels. It certainly seemed to be infinitely longer than what the time-stamp on their PADD’s indicated. Although truthfully it had ‘ _only’_ been several hours since they had set off into the tunnels from an entrance found near their base-camp, it felt like it could have quite easily been days. It truly was far too easy to lose your sense of time within the endless pathways, twists and turns that were completely indistinguishable from one feature to the next.

They were following a predetermined route that they had input prior to setting out. Calculated from extensive deep reaching geo-scans, there was a comfort that at least they _were_ making progress, at least according to their navigation tech anyway. Their mission was to take manual scanners deep within the caves, as there had been an error that presented itself on every single geo-scan when trying to penetrate beyond a certain depth - a completely impenetrable area that the scanners were unable to read at all. Originally they had sent unmanned drones into the cave system, only to have lost them due to the comms link breaking down entirely, their range was too short even with signal boosters.

It was by a unanimous decision by the board that it was decided that _someone_ had to venture into the partially mapped cave tunnels, in search of the lost equipment. Alongside retrieving the equipment, they also had to locate the exclusion zone, and manually set up scanners in order to gather the data in hopes to identify the source of the disruption.

The archaeological site was home to many different divisions of scientists. It was the largest site in the sector. Research teams fought for the chance to bring their own teams to the area after its discovery. It created a bustling and alive environment, with different field specialisations collaborating and pushing everyone's research to new levels in a way that Hugh Culber had only ever dreamed of. It truly was an honor and a dream come true to be Site Manager of such a diverse and bright amalgamation of science teams.

But it also came with a huge amount of responsibility and he did not want to see any of the people in his care put themselves needlessly at risk. As much as he enjoyed the position, it was also getting a little stuffy and cramped within the confines of the camp - Hugh was itching to see something new and to satisfy that itch for adventure. So, he had readily volunteered himself first. He had the welfare of his personnel at the heart of the decision, but it would be lying to say it was entirely selfless.

He was lucky enough to have an amazing second-in-command that he would entrust the management to while he was away, and also trust them for backup and support if needed.  He expected that everything would be running smoothly in his absence, but really his presence shouldn’t be missed for a day. He hoped.

Although this trip did not come without risk as there was a long distance between the cut-off range of comms and the scan-exclusion-zone, he would honestly have rathered shouldered that risk alone than put someone else needlessly in possible harms way. As illogical as that was - and he was a reasonable man. Protocol also mandates that he did need another volunteer to accompany him regardless - it was needlessly reckless to go alone, not to mention the paperwork he would have to file against himself. Paperwork, one con of his position of power.

What he did not expect in the slightest was that Dr. Paul Stamets, his head Xenopaleomycologist and head of the botany / biology division, would volunteer himself even before Hugh’s words had finished leaving his mouth. He admittedly wouldn’t have been Hugh’s first pick… By a long shot.

Before Hugh even got the chance to open his mouth again to ask: _‘Why?’_ (after all it seemed uncharacteristic) Paul launched into his pitch, which was short - but unsurprisingly stern - in his reasoning to accompany him.

“- I volunteer.”  Paul blurted out before anyone else could speak, cutting Hugh off. “I will accompany you. There have been indications of the possible existence of an incredibly rare strain of fungi laced within the bedrock around our excavations. Something I have only ever theorised about, and all my deductions lead me in there-” Dr. Stamets said as he dramatically pointed towards the cave entrance, “- So I’ll be the one to accompany you.”  Paul was staring at him with those intensely deep blue _stubborn_ eyes with such unwavering conviction.

It wasn’t that Hugh doubted Paul’s expertise.  He knew he was incredibly brilliant, that much was evidenced in his work, it was more just that he seemed at home within his lab rather than out on expeditions. A theoretical man, but by no means a pencil pusher. Hugh was unsure of his expeditionary experience, but Paul’s confidence in himself gave him no reason to doubt him. It was noted on his file that he was also incredible adept at handling more complex equipment.

How could Hugh turn him down?  
  
  
While they had been professionally aware of each other for quite some time now **,** this dig was the first time that their paths had crossed in terms of working with each other, professionally or otherwise. However it wasn’t the first time that their paths had crossed all together.

There was that one instance where Paul had sought him out while they were both at an after party that followed a conference they were both in attendance at. They had spoken at length about their work, although they had been soon interrupted by a potential project benefactor that Hugh had been anxious to win over. He was sorry he had to let the conversation slide, leaving it hanging unfinished between them. From the subtly animus expression on Paul’s face towards his potential benefactor, he wondered for a moment if Paul was too. His whole demeanor seemed so different when they were talking together, after all, compared to what he had observed from across the room when talking with others that is. He often looked irritated or uninterested. He wasn’t like that with Hugh at all. Hugh dismissed this, it wasn’t rational or professional. After all it was too short a conversation to really put weight to it, even though he had personally relished every moment.

It wasn’t until years later when they were assigned to this site, having not interacted since that meeting, that they saw each other again. Hugh still didn’t know much about the man, not really, other than his incredibly controlled projection of himself. He sometimes came across as harsh and sarcastic and his resolute stubborn nature was ever present. Though there seemed to be so much more about the man than most gave him credit for. These were traits that he observed to be consistent through mostly fleeting moments that they had ran into each other on site and small conversations had sparingly. Something always seemed to be calling Hugh away, he was unfortunately always busy.

Most of what Hugh remembered of what he knew of the man was the endlessly impressive sprawl of academic achievements and industry breakthroughs within Paul’s unique specialisation and subsequent sub-field specialisation.

Paul had been in many publications and interviewed countless times over the decades, this honestly surprised Hugh as he struck him as the kind of man that was reclusive and wanting to shy from the public eye. Then again, even in those publications the material was steered curtly towards being only about the work, never offering insight into the man behind it. _Perhaps that says more about him than if he gobbed on about his life given every chance,_ Hugh had once thought when flipping through an article that _The Galactic Archaeology Monthly_ had written about him, released before they were posted to this current job.

Hugh had kept the clipping.  He would argue that he keeps the clippings for all the industry leaders and those up and coming that he gets a chance to work with. He had quite the collection of clippings regarding Dr.Paul Stamets and his work. The truth was; they all were collected long before he ever knew that he would be working with him.

Hugh’s opinion of him remained that he was an incredibly impressive man, with an even more so incredible and impressive presence.

  


So here they were, an unlikely duo, trudging through endless caverns and narrow pathways following the map on their devices. The light-emitting drone silently hovered just in front of them, flooding the way with light and making the dark damp walls flicker and glisten in its wake.

Hugh was having to stop and pause occasionally, waiting for Paul to conduct a sample acquisition or as he adjusted certain particulars on his device for the scans he was conducting as they went. He was absolutely making this longer than this realistically had to go for, yet... Hugh couldn’t bring himself to get frustrated at the man for slowing it down. His demeanor was absurdly charming despite him being prickly and impossibly stubborn. _No, not despite of, no, because of those things…Plus he’s also kind of-_

“Dr. Culber, I think we’ve reached the scan exclusion-zone.” The abrupt sound of Paul’s voice snapping his thoughts back into the present. Hugh blinked a few times absently at Paul, as he collected himself and then looked towards the direction which Paul was pointing. 

He frowned. “There’s nothing here, Paul.” He looked back at the man who was making his way to stand beside him, his own brows furrowed in deep thought, though Hugh has come to recognise that as his usual expression.  
  
“No… And that is.. Odd. Bot 1.3.3. Lights to full capacity.” They both squinted, shielding their eyes as the light drone rapidly intensified the light to flood the space.  As their eyes slowly adjusted to the change, it was revealed to them that they were at the edge of an expansive cavern. Despite the light-drone working to the fullest of its capabilities, the light still did not reach the edges of the space - dropping back into an inky darkness and whatever lay beyond was entirely unknown. The space that was illuminated alone could have easily housed a Starship, perhaps even two. How was it that the geo-scans couldn’t detect this immense cavern? What could such a large space possibly be home to?

 

Hugh suddenly felt acutely aware of how small they were.


	2. Enclave

 They tentatively stepped further out of the tunnel that had led them here, in awe of the magnitude to which it opened up to. Feeling disquieted Hugh looked around searching for signs of _anything._ The ceiling was so astonishingly high that the drones jurisdiction of false-light was only barely able to make it out. They both were no strangers to feeling frightfully small in the wake of celestial bodies that they passed in their intergalactic travels, but there was something incredibly humbling about being made to feel pitifully small against a planetary-bound body.

  
 “There’s nothing here,” Paul parroted Hugh's words, although he didn’t seem to share Hugh’s unease “ - at least, nothing discernibly visible that could be the cause of the disturbances to our scanning equipment. Unless… It has something to do with that?”

 Paul gestured over to a formation that was, they could only assume, roughly in the centre of the cavern. Several jagged large rocks jutted out from an elevated formation **,** interlaced with streaks of the bioluminescence that they had seen through the tunnels leading here. Only here it was far more luminous, pulsing even. The whole formation was surrounded in what looked to be perfectly formed smooth flat crystal on the ground at its base. As Hugh took in the sight he noticed a pattern in all the veins that were faintly within the rocky environment around them, all leading towards the centre - towards whatever this formation was in the centre. _A monument? Perhaps?_ _What is this place?_

**“** Look at these veins, Paul, it looks like they’re all leading towards it. Could it be some kind of monument?” He said as he got out his PADD, inputting new variables to scan for. He really hoped it was. Already this cavern and whatever _that_ was in the centre, despite his now fading apprehension,  was the most exciting thing he felt they’d unearthed during the whole dig. Which was a bold statement to make, considering the plethora of new findings they were unearthing every week.

 “No… While it is not impossible, I don’t think it is. The formation is too organic and the veins too consistently dispersed through the entire cave system. See here?” He pointed at the analytics displayed on screen that Hugh was too far away to actually see, “- there’s correlation between the samples I’ve been studying in the excavation site and … these.” Paul’s tone was edging on a lighter tone than Hugh had ever heard it, clearly unable to contain the mounting excitement in his voice.

 “Considering the space we’re looking at, I’m honestly surprised that the scanners aren’t picking up any lifeforms.” Hugh said unsure if he was relieved or disappointed at this and turned back to look towards Paul.

 “Any anthropomorphic lifeforms that is, Dr. Culber,” Paul edged his PADD that was lit up with readings, flashing as more kept pouring onto the screen, into Hugh's vision. “Look at this!” His mouth was skewed in a lopsided grin, his eyes sparkling with pure delight.  “This place is alive!”  
  
 Hugh looked over the display again, flicking between the data that spilled into the screen and looking back into the brilliant blue eyes that radiated with boyish excitement. He couldn’t help but feel inspired. “If we can calibrate the scanners to pick up on the frequency that yours is set to now that would mean we can theoretically sca-”  
  
 “Scan this entire canyon, continent perhaps even planet, depending on how far this system is imbrued in the planets exo-shell, yes!”  
  
 “Yes! Absolutely!” Hugh was grinning back at him now, he was equally in awe of the shift in Paul’s demeanour as he revelled in this moment. Clearly in awe of what this entire discovery of this entire cavern could mean to his research, and he was freely displaying it so openly to Hugh. In all his time with him on this dig he had never seen the man burst forth with such delight and exuberance. His excitement was entirely infectious, Hugh found himself feeling overjoyed for the man, and smiled brightly alongside him.

 Paul made a move towards Hugh, he noticed that his action faltered midway, as if unsure how to express this moment. After a mere second Paul’s hand came up to grip Hugh’s shoulder with vigour, but it still did not match the intensity of the excitement within his eyes. “Dr. Culber, this is incredible. This...This will be invaluable to my research…. Also to me. Thank you.” Paul said with complete honest gratitude. Hugh felt overwhelmed with pride for him, for this man. Was it strictly professional?

 

 They spent the next hour setting up the equipment around strategic points within their general vicinity. They had come to a mutual agreement that it would be too arduous of a venture to go further explore, and therefore set up equipment through the entire cavern - or at least as much of it as possible. Paul, though, was a little more begrudging in his agreement clearly pining to see what possibilities lay beyond what they could see. His eyes at the very least remained flicking back and forth between the task at hand and the structure in the centre. At any given moment that they weren't’ focused on either of those, they were on Hugh as if something was on the tip of his tongue, waiting to tell him. Although he couldn't be sure what. _Probably something regarding the fungi, only natural he’s bursting to return to analyse his new discovery._ He thought. They had a job to do first, so he focused on what needed to be done - as did Paul. Although still somewhat distracted it did not interfere with his ability to accurately and efficiently set the equipment up. His credentials on handling complex machinery clearly shining through.

 During their task they had approached much closer to the centre and found that it wasn’t a solid crystal base that surrounded it, but rather a perfectly still body of water that encircled the entire protrusion that the structure stood on. The water was crystal clear, though, and seemingly endlessly deep. There was a small point of black where the light faded completely **,** unable to reach any further, but it was anyone's guess as to how deep it was truly - without a geo-scan that is. Hugh shuddered involuntarily.

 With all the equipment dispersed evenly across the cavern floor, Paul initiated the carefully programmed scanning sequences, the machines softly beeping until they synchronised - dropping into a low hum as they began their data acquisition sequences.

 “You know, there’s a bridge...” Paul said out of nowhere, trailing off.  
  
 “What bridge?” Hugh asked curiously, he hadn’t seen anything that resembled a bridge. He looked up from reading the geo-scanner module and saw that Paul was staring in the direction of the structure. He had noticed that Paul had barely taken his eyes off the formation while setting up the equipment, between that and himself that is. So it only made sense he would have noticed something that he hadn’t.

 “A bridge that goes right over to the centre of the isle. It looked stable, after all it was formed out of solid rock, so I could…” his voice wistful.

 “It’s risky.” Hugh said sternly.  
  
 “Cumbersome to climb? Sure. Risky? This whole expedition is a risk, Dr.Culber.” Paul says matter of factly and pauses for a moment and brings his eyes back to catch his. They so clearly showed that he was back in the moment, clear and intense - that same deep intensity as when he volunteered for this whole trek. Eyes that could undo him.

 “You knew that, that’s why you so valiantly took the helm of this expedition in the first place.” Paul continued. “I knew it, I probably knew long before you knew did, and I accepted that risk. My life’s work has lead me in here, these ...‘veins’ could be what I’ve been searching for my whole life. That rock, and whatever all this is leading to, is the most important thing to me in this entire place - perhaps even the planet.”

 “You’re putting yourself in danger.” He repeated. He hated playing this card, especially to those he admired and respected. “Look, Paul, as ‘Leader’ of thi-”

 “Scientific breakthroughs do not care about superficial concepts such as hierarchies.” Paul interrupted. He inhaled, visibly collecting himself before continuing. “Our entire job description is risky. We’re not some data pushers stuck in _archives_ . This is how we discover what we do, we take risks.”  
  
 Hugh was silent for a minute, evaluating the man. He wasn’t _wrong._

 “Okay.” he relented. “Okay, be cautious, Paul.”

 Paul’s defensive expression dissipated into yet another smile. “You know, you’re just like I remember.”

 Before Hugh could extract any more information out of him from his cryptic reply, Paul was already walking off towards where he found the formation.

 

 As Paul set out, Hugh busied himself with reading and making small adjustments on the scan modules, working his way between each one systematically. He kept flicking his eyes back and forth to keep Paul in his vision, watching him as he scaled the natural bridge formation, then back to his readings. He was glad he had brought him along on this mission after all, he was proving to have more of an adventurous spirit than he expected.

 A sudden thunderous rumbling cut through the still air. It followed instantly by a scream, cut short by an abrupt, sharp, harrowing crack that reverberated around the cavern. Every noise was only amplified by the natural acoustics. He couldn’t discern each noise from another. Hugh’s blood ran instantly cold. He whipped around in that instant, looking towards the source of the sound. He desperately searched for where Paul was supposed to be standing. Where Paul was supposed to be, walking along the natural bridge, was exactly where he wasn’t. Nor was a chunk of the bridge. A cascade of splashes erupted, disturbing the pristine still surface of the water, as the bedrock plunged into it, sinking below the surface.

_Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!_  
  
 Hugh cast everything he was holding aside and ran as fast as he could towards the water hole, “PAUL? Fuck. PAUL?!”

 There was no return answer other than the comparatively subdued noises as smaller pieces of rock splashed into the water, and his own voice echoed back at him.

 As he reached the edge of the body of water, which was perfectly still beforehand, but now it fiercely crashed against the rocky shore in waves. He frantically scanned for signs of Paul catching only the shadows of objects, cast by the light-drone illuminating so brightly directly above, as they sunk further into the deep pool. He couldn’t see anything. _He couldn’t see Paul._  

  
 “Shit! Computer, locate Paul Stamets!”

  
 “ _Dr. Paul Stamets - location; in direct vicinity; 50 metres ahead, rapidly losing relative altitude_ ” the device clipped to his jacket chimed back with a disgusting amount of chipperness.  
  
 “Oh.. Fuck, no.” Hugh launched himself into a constant stream of swearing as he frantically removed every bit of clothing from his body, leaving only his tactical belt and underwear. He slammed the end of a tether, part of his tactical belt and usually used for abseiling, to the nearest boulder unceremoniously and plunged himself into the icy water.  
  
 The cold water came as such a sudden shock to his otherwise warm body that he instantly released his breath and resurfaced, swearing at himself before bracing himself, diving back into the water **,** swimming deeper; desperate to find Paul. _Why isn’t he surfacing? Could he not swim? How the fuck could I oversee such a detail and put him in danger._ Hugh cursed at himself as he pulled the water up towards the surface, pulling himself down further and the change in pressure around him becoming subtly more apparent with each stroke. The numbingly cold water feeling more oppressive and as he worked his way towards Paul, more claustrophobic.

 He sent a quick silent prayer, to no one in particular, that the alien water did not instantly burn his eyes out when he went to open them; and then opened them anyway. He was flooded with instant relief that they did not instantly disintegrate and his feeling of claustrophobia easing as he looked around the great expanse of water all around him.

 The pristine water shimmered and danced from the light above, the water was oddly tinged blue when viewing from below the surface, small particles of blue swirling and twinkling in the gentle swirling current. The rock looked lighter too, not darker as it should logically look, and the veins of blue pulsating lights shimmered and ebbed - they looked to be the source of the particles. It was beautiful.

 Hugh barely notices any of that, all the beauty in the world could not deter him from his purpose; find Paul.

 Most of the heavier debris has sunk out of sight into the immeasurable depths of the pool, except for one large boulder that seemed to be sinking at a far slower rate as if nearly trapped and unable to move any quicker through a higher density substance.

 As the boulder slowly sank further a hand first came into view, held slackly upward towards the surface, and the further the boulder sank the more of who the hand belonged to he could make out. Paul remained suspended in a dense concentration of shimmering particles that clung to and swirled around him, the light reflections from the surface danced on his skin turning it pearlescent, his hair reflected like metallic strands swaying with the subtle current that held him.

 He was almost perfectly still and peaceful, if it weren’t for the gentle sway of the water tugging at his clothes and hair, he looked as though he was suspended in time and space itself. The particles enveloping him twinkled like stars and gave the illusion that everything was further tinged blue, yet also seemed so strange how possessive the particles were seemingly acting around him. He looked utterly ethereal and beautiful.

 That is, if it wasn’t for the long bold streak of vivid red that looked as if it was trailing from Paul's head, a long marker telling where he had sunk.

 

_Shit._


	3. Sentinel

 Hugh was running out of time to think. His chest felt so tightly compressed, it was burning from holding his breath, and he could hear his own heart beat pound in his ears.

_Fuck._

 Wasting no time he propelled himself towards Paul. As he suspected he found the particle rich substance that Paul was entrapped in at such a high viscosity that his movements were slow and sluggish no matter how hard he exerted himself. He grabbed onto Paul, pulling him close. His hair swayed with the new movement, through the spores and blood trail. Hurriedly Hugh clipped Paul onto his belt with a few carabiners, securing him to himself no matter what. Pulling him tightly into his grip, his arm hooked under Paul’s arms around his torso, he pressed the button on the tether and it began to pull them upwards towards the surface. Towards _air._ Desperation just to breathe again, mounting with every second. Yet the device was unaware of their mortality, the tether simply pulled them at a pace so that decompression shock wasn’t a risk.  

 He just wanted to breathe again. He wanted to see Paul breathe again, life return to his limp body that was held securely in his arms.

 Their heads finally broke through the surface. Hugh immediately gasped in a deep rush of air, flooding back into the deepest recesses of his lungs, washing over the fire that felt like it was burning inside of his chest cavity. Paul didn’t.

  
  
_Paul didn’t._

 

 He was resting heavily against Hugh, still entirely limp, propped up only by Hugh’s hold on him. The amount of blood pouring from the gash on his head was frighteningly apparent as the water dripped from his head. He also wasn’t moving. He wasn’t _breathing_ either.

 So Hugh wasted no time and hauled him onto the rocky shore, half lifting, half dragging his body to stable ground, tearing his backpack off him, straining as he threw the water laden pack further into shore. 

 “Paul? _Paul_...?” Acting on instinct from years of training, he took the base of Paul’s head in his hands, gingerly supporting his neck as he moved to rolled him onto his side. He could feel a pulse, at least. It was slow, but it was there.

 “Come on Paul… Come back.” he begged the unconscious man in his arms.

 He grasped onto the side of his jaw, pressing his fingers inwards pushing Paul's jaw outwards. He still couldn’t detect any movement or voluntary breathing from him, so Hugh pinched Paul’s nose between his fingers and blew as hard as he could into his mouth, his eyes flicking back and forth between watching his chest rise from the air he gave him and watching his face for signs of life.

 He kept this up, doing this in quick regular intervals until the body under his hands shook and tensed up as Paul violently started functioning again. Coughing, spluttering as he expelled water out from deep within him. His heaving breaths in between were jagged. Desperate. _Alive_.

 “...Hugh?” Paul's voice was barely audible, rough and raspy from the ordeal. Hugh shifted his gaze down at him, as he carefully moved to prop Paul up to rest on his leg, watching his breathing.  
  
 “Hey Paul... you’re okay.” He didn’t know who he was trying to convince here, but he was barely able to even try to hide the overwhelming relief and worry that washed over him. “I need to give you some first-aid so I’m going to move you away from here, okay?”

 Paul made a noise in response and Hugh wasn’t sure if he fully understood or not, but he moved to pick him up in his arms regardless to carry him the distance to his bag and equipment. Paul’s frame was heavy to lift off the ground, made worse by his waterlogged clothes, but Hugh was quietly thankful for the years of dedication spent on strength training that enabled him to do so with relative ease. Once standing upright with Paul in his arms, he adjusted his hold on him and Paul fell comfortably against his chest as he walked onward.

 Hugh glanced down to see that Paul was looking up at him. His eyes were big and intensely blue, he had small pin pricks of broken blood vessels that had bloomed violently on his pale skin and his brows were unusually unknotted making his expression lax and… somewhat far away. His soft dreamy expression would have been sweet if it wasn’t contrasted by the constant flow of blood mixed with water running down his face. Hugh picked up the pace a little.

 “I’m here, I got you.” he said trying to sound as comforting as possible.  
  
 “...There’s a clearing.. In the forest...That’s ...how they go...” Paul whispered back at him nonsensically, his voice hoarse and still very quiet.  
  
 “You really did hit your head hard, didn’t you?” Hugh said, trying to offer a small smile back at him but imagined it fell short and resembled more of a grimace. Thankfully he didn’t think the semi-delusional man in his arms would have noticed anyway. “I’m going to take a look at that and see what I can do when I sit you down, okay?”  
  
 “...Mmh...My Dear Doctor...” Paul mumbled against Hugh's chest, and this time he couldn’t help but smile at him, despite his mounting concern for the mans wellbeing. He truly felt as though he was seeing completely different sides of Paul’s personality through this entire expedition. Only wishing it was under better circumstances now.  
  
 “Hey, do you think you could stand on your own?” Paul nodded in response, and Hugh carefully directed his legs to the ground. He took on his whole weight, as Paul leant against him, until he comfortably was able to stand completely unassisted.  
  
 “We need to get you out of those and into something dry, okay?” Paul gave another small nod, hands slowly coming up to work at the buttons of his shirt. They were trembling so much he couldn’t even grasp the fabric between his fingers, so Hugh interjected and moved to do it for him, though not without a glance at Paul silently asking if it was okay for him to do so. Paul simply nodded, and dropped his hands to his sides as he let Hugh work methodically at removing his heavy, frigid, drenched clothing with clinical professionalism, discarding them abruptly into a pile next to them.

 Hugh freezes when he realises that his hands were working too automatically and were about to undo and pull off Paul’s pants, he realises that this is probably stepping over the line, but Paul’s ice cold, shaking hands would find the task monumentally difficult. He cautiously undoes the fastenings, but leaves the rest for Paul to do. He looks back up at Paul, catching his eyes. He clearly was still not quite with it, as his eyes remained in a half daze... but was that a hint of a blush showing on his features? Again, Hugh would have found it incredibly cute if it weren’t for the river of blood trickling over his features. He really needed to tend to that, and soon.  
  
 “I’ll get you some dry clothes to wear,” Hugh said reaching for the blanket that was strapped to the top of his pack, and offered it to him so Paul could dry himself with it, “will you be okay with, uh, the rest? I’ll turn around.” Paul nodded, taking the blanket and Hugh went to fetch his discarded clothes.

He set out his own pants, shirt, jacket as well as a spare pair of socks and underwear from his pack in front of Paul. He would be warmer in the clothes Hugh had worn originally, the thick long sleeve and sturdy long cargo pants. Checking the size of Paul’s discarded boots, he was relieved that they shared close to the same size, so he gave him his pair of boots so that he would be sturdier on his feet. He turned his back and went to get the rest of what was left of his spare clothes from his pack for himself: a short sleeve polo and cargo shorts and a flimsy pair of running shoes. _Great._ At least Paul would be warm and that’s what was important.

 He was lucky he packed that much, and didn’t have to put on Paul’s wet clothes instead. He almost didn’t pack any spare clothes for this expedition, having only remembered them at the last minute. It had been a ritual of his after an incident on an excavation site he was conducting work on and became trapped deep within a cave for several days almost a decade ago. The dampness of his clothes and the constant cold ended up giving him a horrible case of pneumonia, and it took several months to bounce back fully from that one. What a difference dry clothes would have made. Plus, he had a bad habit of tearing his clothes while working in the field, so he always carried a spare set - just in case. Today he’s thankful of his rituals, without dry clothes Paul would probably go into shock before they would have been able to make it into comms range to call for help.

 “..I...I can’t...” Paul said behind him, in a low tone.

 Hugh turned around and saw that his hands were trembling, hopelessly fumbling with the intricacies of the buttons. He had started to sway on his feet too. Paul had managed to roughly pull everything on, but not do anything up. Without him needing to ask, Hugh simply came over and pulled everything on properly  - the shirt a few sizes too big for Paul - fixed up all his buttons, tied his shoes and fastened his pants up. Hugh gathered up his jacket from the ground, pulling it onto Paul and zipped it up securely before helping him to sit down where he was. Paul obviously thankful to rest his legs again.

 Hugh grabbed the blanket and made quick work of drying himself off, changing into his own dry clothes sans the one spare item he didn’t carry a spare for himself. He discarded that one item of wet clothing on the heap with Paul’s unceremoniously. After he was dressed he went to fetch the emergency med-kit from his pack then came to sit down in front of Paul.

 “Hey, how do you feel?” Hugh asked as he sat down, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

 “...Terrible, like I just had a mountain come down on my head... and nearly drowned.” Said Paul, his voice still hoarse but Hugh was quietly glad to hear more of who he knew Paul to be creep back into his voice. Although barely, but it was a start.  
  
 “I’d be worried even more if you felt great about it, you took a nasty hit Paul.” Hugh worked while he talked, narrating what his intentions were so Paul didn’t reel at any unexpected pain and he hoped that it was somewhat soothing too.

 Hugh was pulling knowledge from the mandatory medical courses he had studied over the years while working his way up the ‘ranks’ to leadership positions. He always seemed to have a knack for medical applications, it came so naturally to him and he sometimes wondered what his life would have been if he had chosen to take that path instead. His love for history and archaeology won over, ultimately he was a romantic and his heart felt pulled in this direction above all else. He liked to believe that a universal power pulled him in this direction for a reason. As he wiped Paul’s face to clear it from as much blood as possible, then moved to work on clearing and cleaning the wound with the sterilisation kit, he reflected that he was feeling oddly sentimental while having another man's blood over his hands. Although if it meant that his decisions in life had lead him to this moment, to saving this one man's life; he felt that this alone made choosing this path worth it.

 Paul hissed through his teeth, wincing as Hugh applied a temporary wound glue, and Hugh noticed that throughout his attentiveness that Paul had not looked at him once. Once the glue was applied, Hugh wiped the last bits of blood from his face and the best he could from his blond hair, blotting as much of the residual water from it as possible. Paul simply sat silently, from what Hugh could only guess was a mixture of pain, exhaustion and feeling overall pretty despondent. Probably embarrassment too, he was a very proud man. This image of him made it hard to imagine how exuberantly excited and overjoyed he was such a short time ago.  
  
 “How’s that feel, Paul?” Hugh asked trying not to sound condescending, he was being genuine after all.

 Paul didn’t answer right away, his eyes were still averted. “...I’m sorry.” He eventually said, quietly.

 Hugh was taken aback by his simple apology and cut through the undercurrent of his worried swirling thoughts. Since when did _Dr. Paul Stamets_ apologise to _anyone?_ He was still shivering though, Hugh wishes that the blanket didn’t have to be used as a makeshift towel, though he did have a scarf in his bag; so he went to go get that as he packed away the med-kit back into his pack.  
  
 “Here.” He said, sitting back down in front of Paul. He draped the scarf around his neck, doubling it over a few times, leaning in as he did so. “What’s important is that you’re here, alright?”

 Paul was looking at him this time and for the first time Hugh really saw how bloodshot his eyes were, but also….just how beautiful they were, how close they were, how much closer they were getting..? _Oh._

 Just as he realised what was going on, Paul had pressed his lips against his.

 His lips were cold, _freezing cold_ , sending shocks through him for both the unexpected nature of it, but also _the freezing coldness_ of them. Although, it did not make Hugh want to break apart from them, truthfully it just made him want to sink further in and envelope Paul's icy skin with his own warmth. So as soon as he found himself relaxing into the kiss, he found that he was left chasing Paul's cold lips as Paul pulled away from him. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself looking at the other man who wore a scrunched up expression.  
  
 “I’m sorry, that was… Incredibly unprofessional of me.” He sighed bringing his hand up to his face, pressing his thumb into the bridge of his nose. “I’m such a fucking moron. I’m sorry Dr. Culber, I shouldn’t have…”

 Paul’s words fell short as Hugh inched his hand underneath his, lifting it free from his face, resting his own on the side of his freezing cheek moving it to cup his jaw. Hugh ran his thumb over his cheek, and pulled him in close once more, kissing him with absolute intent. He wanted to make sure Paul knew his intention, that he _wanted_ to kiss Paul, he _wanted this_. He poured every bit of his intention past his parted lips, and fell fully deeper into him. In which Paul met him with such an enticing subdued noise. Hugh remarked absently to himself that Paul tasted oddly... _minty?_

 Paul pulled back suddenly, inhaling a deep sharp breath and smiled as he waved away Hugh's worried expression trying to catch his breath. “I did just nearly drown…” he said raspily, to which Hugh gave a small apologetic laugh.

 Once Paul had caught his breath again, Hugh moved to brush him along his cheek, smiling warmly at him. He was about ready to make their move back to camp but before he could mention it, Paul moved to draw him in for a soft lingering, but assured, kiss. However this time Paul was shivering under his touch again and it wasn’t because of Hugh. His hands were shaking from the coldness that was seeping deeper into him, the rest of his frame was beginning to follow suit. As much as he would love nothing more for the world to melt further away with their lips against each other, Paul was surely turning into an ice statue. He willed himself to break away. Now wasn’t the time.  

 “I need to get you back to camp, Paul. Are you okay to walk?” he said with a gentle force.

 “Are you offering to carry me the entire way back?” Paul said teasingly, his face still wore a faint blush that was no doubt being held at bay from fully blooming by the overwhelming coldness that he felt. “But really, I should be okay. I feel okay… Cold, a little weak, but I’m okay.” 

 Hugh left Paul sitting there as he readied the gear to take back, emptying out some space within his own pack and made room to put Paul’s samples and devices within his pack. He figured that Paul needed a small win for the day and he knew that the data which he had accumulated would be invaluable - if they were able to salvage anything from it that was. But that was a problem for later.

 Hugh shouldered his pack, leaving what remained of Paul’s bag’s content in a wet heap scattered on the ground after he had pulled what he needed from it. He came over to Paul and helped him on his feet, partially supporting his weight as he found his balance again, before starting to move towards where they had entered the cavern to make their way back to camp with the light drone hovering above.

 “The equipment...” Paul implored, his voice was already getting smaller just from standing and walking a mere few steps.  
  
 “We’ll come back for it, you’re my priority now, Paul. They should be fine. Besides, there’s no sign that anything has disturbed this place, more than what we already have, in a long time. It will be fine. Also by the time we come back the scanners will have more data than we could possibly need.” Hugh assured him with a tight smile. He meant it, he was sincere. However the rapid regression of how Paul seemed to be holding up settled in his stomach as a heavy, sickly, uneasiness. He tried keep those feelings from creeping into his voice.

 Paul, who was already visibly too tired to protest any further, just nodded in agreement and began to move with Hugh’s guidance.

 

 Hugh led the way, following the pathway on his device that he took to strapping on to his arm. It looked slightly ridiculous in how oversized it was but it was useful just in case he needed both of his hands in an instant. The last thing they needed was it to fall and break and they would be left wandering aimlessly through the twisting pathways.

 Although their progress was slow. Paul was walking on his own, but he was evidently struggling to keep pace, even though Hugh was taking it incredibly slowly. It was, however, comparable to their journey here at least  - only this time they weren’t stopping so often for Paul to take samples and scans.  
  
 “Hugh…He didn’t know...” Paul suddenly said after probably half an hour or more of silence that had fallen over them.  
  
 Hugh stopped and looked back at Paul, noticing that he had fallen several more paces behind again, and noticed that his eyes were focused on something unseen and far away. “Who didn’t know what, Paul?”  
  
 “...It was too late. The enemy was already there and then…” His expression fell as he slowed to a stop. “Then...he lost him.” 

 “Paul what are you talking about?” Hugh stepped closer to him and took his arm in his hand. As he did so he watched as Paul raised his eyes to look at him, his usually sharp piercing eyes were being taken over by an encroaching cloudiness that reminded him of the particles in the cavern lake. Dread returning to him like a flood as he watched the phenomena unfold. 

 “Hugh?” This time Paul’s voice was as strong as it had been earlier in the day, yet vulnerable and tinged with hope. He reached out and touched the side of Hugh’s face. His eyes were still clouded over, something really wasn’t right.  
  
 “Paul, we really need to go, we have to get you back to camp. Somethings wrong. You’re not okay.” he urged.

 “Oh.” His voice explicitly pained as his expression fell. His foggy eyes looked as though they searched his face, eventually drawn towards Hugh’s lips - it was hard to tell - where his fingers followed, tracing over the length of an old scar that marred them. “No, you’re not _him._ ” he finished in a hollow tone as his hand fell to his side, defeatedly.

 As quickly as it came on, did it recede. The cloudiness within Paul’s eyes faded away and his own came back into focus, fluttering and rolling backwards.  
  
_What in the cosmos is going on?_  
  


 

 Hugh urged Paul to continue on once he had come back to himself enough, and they trudged along together, this time Hugh not letting Paul out of his grip. Paul began to periodically mutter nonsensical things about castles, forests, a spore drive (whatever that was), a bridge overlooking ‘ _the canyon_ ’ and several loud outbursts of ‘ _It all starts with the Gormagander!’_ Hugh had seen concussions before, but this was unlike anything he had ever encountered.

 The sooner they got back, the better. Hugh urged on with as much haste as he could manage.  
  
 It wasn’t until an hour later that they came back within comms range, having a much shorter range than their deep geo-scanners. Hugh was alerted to it by the device on his wrist lighting up and chiming with notifications. Taking a minute he dialled in an emergency connection to the team-leader that he had left in charge. He explained the situation and urgency that they send a medical evac team (with thermals) to intercept them immediately, and briefly gave them a run down on Paul's symptoms. He ended the communication by forwarding the navigational data to them. It was the same route as when they had set out, but he didn’t want to chance that they didn’t have the data anymore, as unlikely as that was.

 

 Paul’s struggling now. _Really struggling._ He’s short of breath, leaning on Hugh more than ever, and has broken into a cold sweat. His outbursts have reduced to slurred quiet mumbles, his head lolling about as he does so. So Hugh takes up his unofficial offer to Paul, and carries him for a while - until he just can’t any further.

 He lowers himself with considerable effort, Paul still in his arms, and sits him on his own lap, barricading him from the cold wall with his warm torso. As if by instinct, or simply motor response from the cold, Paul curled himself up tightly against him.

 

 Curled together, they waited.


	4. Return

 

 He couldn’t be quite sure how long they spent there, though it couldn’t have been long. Each time Paul shuddered particularly violently under his tight grip, he would vigorously rub his arms, chest, back and legs to stimulate some form of warmth - but nothing was penetrating this acute permafrost that was pervading through to his very core.  

 Soon enough the recovery team had caught up to them, springing right into action wasting no time to gather Paul up, wrapping thermal blankets around him before strapping him to a hover stretcher. They placed several implements onto his skin, and began to take readings from him as they progressed back to camp.

 Together they all make quick time of making their return trip. With Paul being strapped to the hover stretcher, they were able to pick up the pace considerably and moving fast as possible, even jogging at points - sending a welcome warmth through Hugh. He is thankful to the medics sense of urgency but also to their attentiveness to Paul as they continued to monitor his condition while moving through the tunnels. Paul’s first few outbursts, though now low mumbled nonsense, made the team exchange looks with each other but eventually grew accustomed to it. Hugh did not share their eventual indifference, each one was as worrying as the one before.

 When eventually the cave entrance comes into sight, Hugh audibly lets out a loud sound of relief. It’s lit by a few freestanding floodlights, as it was now night. It only then hits Hugh just how much time has disappeared while in the cave when he gets a look at the sky and the position of the moons above, once free from the blinding floodlights.

 It’s late. Very late. There is no one walking around camp so they make the rush straight to the Medical building with uninterrupted haste. Hugh absently notices a few peering faces as they pass the accommodation precinct. Whispers will start to fly in the morning, if they weren’t already being sent around to those still awake.

 They’re ushered to the Medical division where two medical teams were already standing by. Without a word one team, the larger one by far, took Paul on his hover stretcher into one section and the other guided Hugh into another small room. Despite having full faith in his team, Hugh feels pangs of fear for not knowing what is going on with Paul at any given moment. He feels a deep sense of responsibility towards him and now it’s out of his hands entirely.

 He tries to reassure them that they’re wasting their time on him, _he’s fine_ , but the medical team is adamant - for protocols sake. For the next hour they obsessively scanned and prodded Hugh with every possible test and precaution. He was less than impressed when being instructed to take a full quarantine shower as a safety measure, as the team worked to decontaminate their belongings, but he understood the requirement. It was every bit as horrible as he dreaded.

 As Hugh returned to his room, dressed in simple fresh clothes, a nurse came in having clearly come from where Paul was being kept. She whispered something that Hugh couldn’t hear to one of the nurses standing in attendance and they looked confused and thoughtful at whatever was being said, then nodded solemnly, quietly addressed the other nurse and they both left the room in a hurry. Hugh’s heart sank.

 “What’s going on? Is Paul okay?” He asked his sole remaining nurse. He absently regarded the casual use of Paul’s first name in a situation which should have seen him addressing the nurse formally, something he wasn’t known for in such a setting, certainly something he never used to do in regard to _Dr. Stamets_ before today.

 “We don’t know, Sir. Not yet. They’re doing everything they can I assure you, Sir.” He said, his tone sickly formal. In this moment, Hugh despised it.

 Medical insisted on keeping him in for monitoring overnight, which truly he didn’t mind for the sole reason that he was closer to Paul, this way he would be near enough to hear any possible news that might develop.

 Although the night wore on and the Medical personnel kept tight lipped, he never did end up being updated on anything. He eventually fell into a restless sleep, and experienced the most unsettling dream he had ever experienced in his life.

 

 He was released in the morning and is cleared to go back to his duties. He’s up before most of the camp is awake, and takes the time to stop at the Biology division, prepared to leave a carton of Paul’s belongings and samples on the front step when he notices that the lights are already on and people are moving about inside. Well, it looks like Paul’s team shares his rumoured work ethic if nothing else.   
  
 As he enters the complex, he’s met with curious looks from the few people inside. He’s greeted by a bubbly red headed woman, who Hugh decides is far to alert and chipper for this time of day. After he explains his intentions to her she directs him to a tall neatly groomed dark haired man, whose intense gaze bore into him. He introduces himself as Dr. Justin Straal, Paul’s research partner and immediately asks why he isn’t handing this over himself. Clearly he wasn’t a man interested in whispers or rumours. As Hugh recounted the events, and what he knew of Paul’s condition (which wasn’t much), Straal’s expression grew even more intense, evidently concerned for his colleague and friend. Hugh handed over the soiled equipment and samples to Straal, hoping that he could salvage something from it ‘ _for Paul’s sake_ ’. Straal regarded him curiously as he said that, but after a moment thanked him and assured their team would work on it.   
  
He left with the feeling of hope and gratitude.

 

 He isn’t allowed to see Paul during the day. The nurses reassured him that he is now in a stable condition but he remains periodically prone to waves of unexplained bursts of nonsense and slipping into a state that mimics psilocybin poisoning symptoms, despite there being no traces within his system. Hugh tried to contain his concern while going about his regular work, but his lack of concentration was blatantly apparent.

 In the early evening he received a notification from the Medical division. Dropping everything to open it he was disappointed to read that it was simply a routine report, and contained nothing about Paul.

 His finger hovered over the direct comms button to Medical, anxious for any information to alleviate his worry. Instead he felt urged to go down to see if he could visit Paul in person, so he finished up his reports early - certainly what he considered much earlier than usual for the day, despite the sun having already set hours ago, his shift well and truly over. He grabbed his coat and his hat, and left his office, swiftly making his way down to Medical.

 

 The night shift had already commenced, so there were fewer staff.  As he stood waiting he twisted the brim of his hat between his fingers nervously. Why did he feel so damn nervous? It was so unlike him. It took several minutes until a nurse was able to meet him at reception, he snapped back to attention on their arrival.

 “Sir? Are you feeling alright?” The nurse asked, obviously confused on his unexpected presence back at the medical division. After all they had only just sent through the departments daily report less than an hour ago, he usually wasn’t _this_ vigilant with getting through the reports at the end of day, and his presence may have indicated an issue. Or perhaps simply they had seen his stance prior. Either way, it didn’t matter. He only had one thing on this mind that truly mattered to him.

 “Huh? Oh, yes, I’m fine.” He said “I’m actually here to see Dr. Stamets. Has he been released from Isolation?”

 “He has, yes. However he’s not awake right now, Sir. We can contact you when he is, if you’d like?” their voice was kind and reassuring.

 “Please. But would you mind if I saw him tonight anyway?”  Hugh asked.

 The nurse regarded him curiously for a moment, his intentions quite obviously transparent. “Of course, Sir. Right this way.”

 They lead him through to a closed off room where Paul lay still on his bed. He was surrounded by so many different machines, with so many different vitals being displayed, that he almost looked small, lost in between a mechanical forest.

 Hugh thanked the nurse, who silently departed.

 

 He didn’t know how long he just stood there, not really, but he found himself unable to move from the sight of Paul that mirrored the strange dream he had last night.  

 Hugh almost never had dreams where he was looking through his own eyes. That was the first thing that stood out to him as odd. The second being that he could consciously reflect that it was odd in the first place.

 The third was that Hugh seemed to be looking around a space that was eerily similar to a starship, but it wasn’t quite right. Just _different._ Not that he had seen many different starships, and realistically they all had their differences, but he had been privy to enough over the years having been charted between different scientific explorations. Occasionally simply on a tour as an esteemed guest whenever he was in attendance at a seminar on a Starbase. So certainly enough to know that this one just didn’t seem within design regulation. _But what do I know?_ He had thought.

 As Hugh’s eyes scanned the room, he caught sight of another person in the room, clad in white and silver. A uniform he had never seen before. So, surely it was a dream, but...Why did he feel oddly aware of his consciousness?

 Hugh’s body, or the body which he was looking through, seemed to move automatically and autonomously from him, clearly familiar with the surroundings. He moved from task to task, looking over PADDS, that were again oddly familiar but strangely _not quite_ the same as the ones he knew. He poured over scan results, sterilised instruments, tended to a minor injury on another person who came in - clad in blue and bronze - and listened to who he assumed to be one of his colleagues. There were no familiar faces here, but they were calling him Dr. Culber, so this probably was a dream, he reasoned.

 Paul was there. He shortly realised. He lay seemingly unconscious on a bed. Or so Hugh thought until he approached him, lowering the force field that surrounded Paul, in order to to tend to him. He administered something knowingly, the body seemingly unresponsive under his touch. Hugh’s eyes wandered over Paul's face and noticed he had those same clouded eyes, then watched as Paul proceeded to whip his head around sporadically, saying a slew of things that made absolutely no sense at all.

 It isn’t long until another man dressed in a black and gold uniform (that was entirely different once again) came in specifically asking for Hugh. He left Paul’s side, and another Doctor took over the role of caring for him.

 Hugh listened to himself talk as if he knew this man, listened to the man clad in black and gold with his almost frantic worries and watched the man in gold irrationally snap at him. Hugh manages to calm him down, proceeded to lead him to another bed and initiated some kind of scan, once again knowingly. 

 “STAY OUT OF THE PALACE!” Paul’s voice rings out loudly around the small room.

 Hugh’s worried, he can feel it in every part of his being. So he goes over to Paul, lowering the field that had been reactivated, and brushed his leg as he approached in way so habitual. Hugh hears himself whisper reassuring affirmations to Paul - and knows it’s partially to reassure himself too. He leans down to kiss Paul, somehow it felt more intimate and familiar than anything he’s ever known.

 As he rose Paul’s eyes locked onto Hugh’s and the cloud that shrouded them faded away, revealing sharp, steely blue eyes. He could feel himself smile, but those eyes bore through you with an intensity that he couldn’t quite comprehend.

 “Be careful...The enemy is here.” hissed Paul in warning before falling back into his trance-like state. 

 All Hugh knew next was fear. He jerked back. He woke gasping and sweating in his hospital bed. It took him a few minutes to regain his breath, but when he did he began to recall the words Paul spoke in his dream. They struck a strong resemblance to those that he had muttered to him in the cave and mirrored the very same haunting way in which his eyes looked back in there, too.

_Don’t tell me we’ve unearthed some ancient curse by disturbing the cave._ Hugh had scoffed to himself in attempt to deflect some of his fears. He wasn’t a superstitious man, or at least that’s what he told himself, but nothing was making much sense right now. It made him more than a little uneasy, certainly more than he cared to admit to himself.

 

 Hugh stood as the dream replayed in his mind, seemingly of its own volition. He was unconscious to the fact that during all of this he had moved to Paul’s side. He stood by the bed and had taken Paul’s hand in his own. His hand still cool to the touch, but perhaps that was because of the buildings climate control, though he couldn't be quite sure.

 Nothing changes as the night wore on, the machines beep and flash rhythmically, Paul’s chest simply rises and falls calmly and every once in a while his fingers sporadically twitch in Hugh’s hand while he sleeps, but he doesn’t stir other than that. The gentle rain that falls steadily on the window feels strangely healing. He was completely silent now, not a single outburst, Hugh wondered when that had stopped happening and if it was a good sign or not.

 Although visiting hours had ended many hours ago, the night staff had graced him with space to be at peace at Paul’s side. Special treatment, perhaps. Normally he wouldn’t have liked to take advantage of that, but right now it’s the last thing on his mind. He stays with Paul, his presence comforting, but there’s nothing more he can do - so Hugh eventually retires back to his trailer and sleeps.

 That night he dreamt of walking through a man-made forest and by the looks of the strange yet familiar surroundings, it looked as though it was in the same strange Starship as before. They were surrounded by a full and lush forest of glowing plants and alien fungi, their glow dancing over their skin as they moved through the area together. As they walked amongst it, side by side, his hand was held firmly in Paul’s. By the end of their walk, however, he was holding a lot more of Paul than just his hand.

 

 He liked this dream a lot more than the first. 


	5. Haven

 The next couple of days drag past. They shouldn’t, but they do. A couple of the teams on Sector Four finally unearthed a few key and exciting developments in their excavation. The whole site has come alive, a discovery always reignites everyone's excitement. But the days did drag on and Hugh’s mind was too preoccupied to even fully appreciate the finds let alone find any excitement in them.

 Paul still hadn’t woken up. Hugh had visited him everyday before and after his shift. He replayed every moment in his head; from the harrowing crack of his head against rock to the blood pounding in his ears as he watched Paul suspended motionless and bleeding in the water. To how he didn’t take his first breath, the blood, his choking gasps, his haunting clouded eyes, his delirium, and everything he could have done to prevent Paul from coming with him in the first place so that none of that would have happened.

 Then...he remembered his joy, his excitement and how much happiness he had seen the man display. That kiss, or kisses rather, the shape of his jaw in his hand, how Paul’s eyes looked at him and even how he tasted. Like mint. At least that one fact made him laugh a little.

 

 It was the middle of the day, the sun was high and the air was crisp. His mind should be clear, or focused at the very least, but he still couldn’t shake his concern. Hugh let out a long exhale and leaned back in his chair with a thud. He wasn’t getting anything done. It would be better to go back to his trailer, get a workout in to clear his mind, and settle back into work afterwards.

 Or so he planned, until he found himself distracted when sitting back at his trailer, actually pouring over the latest scans that had just rolled in from the Fourth Sector dig-site instead.

 Unaware of the sun starting to dip low on the horizon, he was interrupted by a knocking at his door. It pulled him out of his new found intense concentration of the scans, which he had been meticulously analysing. He checked his device; no messages. Odd, usually his Deputy Site Manager would message him before coming over. He got up to answer it anyway.

 As he swung the door open, he did not expect to see Paul of all people stood on his front step. He was wearing casual clothes, a zip up hooded jacket that was clearly more than a few sizes too big for him, his jeans were loose and awkwardly tucked into heavy steel capped worker boots. His hair wasn’t pressed down as neatly as how he usually always had it, and was angled up in a bit of a mess. His cheeks seemed just that little bit more hollow. His eyes, though, were alert and as piercing as ever.

 “Oh, Paul. Hey.” he said, looking down at the bundle of neatly folded clothing that he held in his arms, it was by far the neatest thing on him right now. “I didn’t think you’d be released yet, I was actually going to come visit again after I finished up with the work I was doing.” Medical hadn’t sent him a message either, he noticed.  
  
 Paul frowned, shifting on his feet, but held his gaze, “Thank you Dr. Culber, but that wasn’t necessary of you.” his voice strong and robust again, not a hint of the raspy weak voice - it truly was a relief.  
  
 “Maybe, but I wanted to.” Hugh said smiling. “Come in, sit down Paul, let me grab you a drink. I hope tea is okay, it’s all I have.”  
  
 “I..oh.. Sure.” If he was originally going to protest, Hugh didn’t give him a chance to, he was already making the short strides to the kitchenette and began to fix drinks for the both of them, while Paul stepped tentatively into his space. “I, uh, came to return your clothing.”  
  
 “Oh, thanks! Just dump it anywhere.” Paul did so, placing it on the table as he sat down. “How are you feeling now, anyway? No offence, but you were in a terrible state for a couple days there. You looked terrible.”  
  
 “I’m okay.” Paul said his hands resting on the table in front of him, though they wouldn’t stop fidgeting. “I spent some time in the lab earlier today. Straal informed me that you saved some of my samples and equipment, actually. He ended up being successful in saving enough data and samples to begin analysis.”  
  
 “I’m sure the Medical department would be very happy to hear you are ignoring their prescribed time off.” Hugh said, lightly chastising him.

 “Are you going to write me an official warning, _Sir_?” Paul quipped right back. He really did seem better.

 Hugh flicks his tongue over his lips and smiles. “Actually, I was going to offer a place on the return mission. Someone has to go get all the equipment that we failed to recover _and_ all of the extra equipment we left in there. Cave reconnaissance redeux.” _And our underwear_ , he thought to himself amused.

 “Absolutely!” He didn’t quite expect Paul to look like he was about to bounce out of his skin at the prospect of returning, considering how the last expedition nearly ended.

 “Provided, you don’t do anything so stupid this time. I won’t stand for you nearly dying on me again” Hugh emphasised his point by dropping a tea-leaf cube into his mug, from a height, for dramatic effect. Water splashed over the bench, but from the smile that it extracted from Paul, it was well worth it.

 “Of course.” Paul said, his tone more measured but still clearly grateful and happy for the offer.

 “It won’t be for a week yet, I now have to jump through a few more hoops to get it approved by _my_ bosses, considering how the last one went. Though I think the expertise your presence would bring would be invaluable.” he said, ‘ _I would appreciate your presence’_ is what he was really saying. He brought the two mugs over, placing them in front of each other as he sat down next to Paul. “This time it’ll be a larger team, and no straying off task.” Hugh smiled through a pointed look. “Have you given any thought to what you’d like to name the organic substances you discovered in there? I mean I know you probably were busy focusing on your recovery, but have -“

 “-Stella. _Petramglomerorus stellaviatori_ .” Paul quickly cut off Hugh, interjecting with such enthusiasm that his hands flung out in expression, very nearly sending the mug and its contents flying across the room. “I… well. It sounds crazy. But the latter half of the name came to me while I was unconscious in the water. When I...uh.. saw things.” he said, bunching his eyebrows up.  “ ‘ _Prototaxities stellaviatori’_ the voice said. It’s actually something I want...no... _need_ to refocus my research on. Somehow it feels right, that this is the path that I’m meant to take my work down. I haven’t figured out how that all connects yet, but I know it’s right.” Paul seemed to grimace at the sound of his own words. “I know this sounds insane. That _I sound insane.”_

 "No, it doesn’t Paul. Well. Maybe a little bit, but I’ve had strange dreams ever since we came back from there. So I can’t judge.” admitted Hugh, though felt that _strange_ barely covered it accurately.

 “Really?” Paul’s expression became thoughtful. “In a dark dimly lit ship? Or brightly lit ship? Starships I think… I’m not quite sure. But they were…”

 “Familiar but not quite? Yeah.” Finished Hugh. “It was bright, I think I was a Doctor and there was a -

 “Forest.” They both said in unison, which only amplified Hugh’s opinion that ‘strange’ barely felt like a strong enough descriptor.

 “Huh…” Paul said and fell silent for a moment, tapping his fingers unconsciously against his mug along with his thoughts. “I’ve been theorising that perhaps it was what was in the water… you said it was full of those _particles_ , right? From those veins?”

 “It was. I didn’t ingest any like you. But...My eyes were open, perhaps some was absorbed that way?” Hugh paused for a second, his lips twitching into a small but sly smile over the rim of his mug. “Well…. either that or through your mouth.”

 He watched as Paul visibly stiffened, freezing right in front of him. Paul’s hands instantly went white around his mug, gripping onto it with such sudden intensity that Hugh thought he was going to break it. _Oh, did I say something wrong? Did Paul think it was a mistake? Oh fuck, what if he didn’t remember it at all?_

 “Oh.” Was all that Paul said, leaving every question that was swirling around in Hugh's head completely unanswered. He was clearly forcing that much out of himself too.

 Well, there was no other way to know other than to ask. “Do you remember what happened in the cavern?” Hugh asked bluntly.

 Paul simply nodded.

 “...everything?”

 He nodded again, eyes downcast. “Yes. I do.” He was quiet for another moment as his tapping on his mug intensified. “It’s part of the reason why I wanted to come over today. I wanted to apologise to you.”

 “Apologise? Paul, you wouldn’t have known that the path would collapse under you...”

 “No.. You know that’s not what I meant.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have _done that,_ to you, in the cavern, Dr. Culber.”

 “Hugh.” he said sternly.

 “...Hugh.” Paul cautiously corrected himself.

 “And why?”

 “It was incredibly unprofessional of me, I wasn’t thinking straight because of my head injury.” Paul’s tone was bordering on robotic with how obviously practised those words were. Who was he really trying to convince here?

 “Paul, the real reason.” Hugh implored.

 He was silent for a good while, his pending answer left hanging in the air. Eventually when he spoke it was slow and deliberate. “...Because I didn’t want that to be just something we left in the cavern, something that happened out of sight from everyone. Something that could remain unnamed, forgotten about or never spoken about again. I never wanted it to be just... One time...”

 “Well, it wasn’t just once.” Hugh said playfully, grinning at him, trying to cut through Paul’s obvious discomfort. Paul just sighed, the joke clearly making him even more uncomfortable despite Hugh’s good intentions.  “Look, Paul, I didn’t plan on it only being that time. At least, I don’t want it to be. It’s not something I want to hide from people, either. I’m not ashamed about what happened. Was I surprised? Yeah, initially. But, I had hoped I conveyed how much I wanted it in that moment...”  
  
 “You did.” Paul said, although his voice still sounded sceptical.

 Hugh reached out for his hand, “I really hoped it wouldn’t be only one time.” He half expected Paul to pull away from him, but he didn’t. His hand remained fixed under Hugh’s for a moment until Paul’s hand slowly turned and his fingers repositioned themselves; finding their place in the gaps between his own. Hugh smiled. Nothing had felt so familiar, so right.

 “I thought I was going to lose you.” Hugh said softly, looking at their clasped hands.  

 “...You barely know me.”

 “Maybe,” he smiled casting his eyes upwards to catch Paul’s curious gaze “but I didn’t want to lose the opportunity entirely.”

 He inched closer to Paul, and this time when he presses his lips to Paul’s, they are warm. Warm and wholly inviting. The only icy thing that remained were his guarded walls, and every last measurable bit of those icy walls slowly melted away the longer they lingered together. This time Paul was the one who enveloped him, he had moved his hands to hold Hugh’s head, he was overcome by the warmth in _his_ embrace. Even his hair was warm from the afternoon light that had streamed through the blinds, Hugh catching the strands at the tip of his nape through his fingers, as he slid his arm around Paul's neck - pulling Paul in closer; deeper. If he could have his way, they would remain this way for the rest of their lives.

 Hugh was a realistic man and eventually, reluctantly, he pulled away from Paul’s lips - his new haven. He was pleased to see that this time his face wasn’t scrunched up in self deprecation, but instead wore a warm resplendent smile, which Hugh happily reciprocated wholeheartedly.

  “Because you know what? I really dig you.” Hugh attempts, but fails miserably, to hold a neutral face as he said it. His grin only widened at Paul’s groan and roll of his eyes.

  “You know what? I’m already starting to regret instigating any of this.” He goes to move from Hugh’s hold on him, but he doesn’t let him. Paul’s giddy smirk, fades into a gentle smile as he guides Hugh back into a kiss.

  Hugh simply smiles as he begins to lose himself in Paul’s lips. Feeling like this time; he was the one willingly yielding to drowning in every part of his being.

 

//

 

 “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”

― John Muir


	6. The Witness

//

 

 Hugh stirred. The haze of dreams already becoming lost to him as he faded back into reality. He can’t see his clock, but it’s late, he can feel it. Rolling over he reached for the comforting presence that lay next to him, more than ready to drift back to sleep pressed up against each other until sunlight broke and woke them both up. But his hands found nothing. The sheets next him were empty and starting to cool, but haven't quite lost their residual heat entirely. 

 “Paul?” He more groaned out more in an unintelligible slur than anything. When there was no reply he willed his eyes to crack his open.

 Moonlight streamed through the ajar window, bathing their small bedroom in dream like hues, although a dream that’s currently rendered incomplete with Paul missing.

 He sluggishly gathered himself up, willing himself out of bed and remembering in a haze to pull on the robe that lay discarded next to his nightstand. It’s not that he’s cold, the night air is mild and pleasant, but when going to find your missing boyfriend - modesty is a minimum.

 He opens the door that leads into the rest of their modest quarters, bracing himself for an assault of light on his eyes. It doesn’t come. Their living area is completely empty and unlit, save for the moonlight that was flooding in from the open front door.

 Just beyond the frame he could see a bundled up figure sitting on the front steps. _Paul._

 “Paul?” Hugh softly called out to his hunched up frame. He could hear Paul intake his breath sharply before he raised his head and turned towards the call. On catching Hugh’s gaze, he simply offered a half smile and moved to scooch over on the step, which Hugh responded in kind to his unspoken invitation coming to sit down close beside him. He slipped his arm around the back of the blond man's broad shoulders, pulling him closer to his frame, and laid his own kiss on the moonkissed strands. “Can’t sleep?”

 Paul shook his head against Hugh’s chest and spoke softly. “That dream again. I hate that one. No matter how many times I have it… I can’t stand seeing you die.”  Paul shifted under Hugh’s grasp, placing the cup of tea that he held in his hands on the step beside him and took up Hugh’s other hand in his instead. “Promise me you’ll never wear anything white.” His expression was pained and raw. Hugh hated that Paul was plagued by these visions of lives that weren’t his own since the accident in the cave. He was too, but nowhere near as frequently or as wildly varied as Paul’s.

 “White is the least practical colour in a place like this, babe.” He brought his hands up to his lips and slowly kissed along his knuckles.  
  
 Paul’s expression softened as he did so, returning to lean against him as a small shiver passed through him - whether from feeling cold or the implications surrounding his request, Hugh wasn’t sure. “Yeah, I know.”

 It had nearly been a year since the accident, yet it still remained a strange mystery that they shared these glimpses into other lives between them. Paul’s and Justin’s work was progressing with coming closer to unlocking some of those mysteries. Sometimes the inspiration came from a snippet of information that Paul had seen in one of his visions. More often than not it didn’t serve them any use, as the information was far beyond their current understanding that it simply amounted to nothing more than a cryptic mess of information. Occasionally, however, a simple insight propelled their research forward months at a time in a single day. It was a huge advantage, but Paul still remained sceptical of the source and often felt as though he was losing his mind.

 There was such an onslaught of information, sometimes it was easy to follow and other times it was a contradiction to everything he thought he had learnt. It was never chronological, to only add to the confusion. As the year went on more and more lives were woven into the mix - the information only becoming more convoluted. Sometimes, although thankfully extremely rarely, Paul would wake up with a choked scream feeling as though a sudden emptiness tore through him. Once it happened in his lab and he simply dropped everything he was carrying, doubling over and crumpled to the floor, gasping for air. Justin raced him to the Medical division promptly, where he spent a whole week in there that time, much to Paul’s delight.

 Hugh ordered every test imaginable in hopes to pinpoint what was going on. Everything came back negative. Not a single scan contained any insight as to what had happened. The only thing was a very slight increase in white matter and overall activity in his frontal cortex, even so it was only very slightly elevated from his baseline and the average person's, but nothing more than that. He was cleared for duty again, discharged and returned back to work. Paul told him that he was convinced that the only way he would ever find answers to what was going on with them, was to understand what _his Stella_ has done to him. To them.

 It was to be noted that after those particular episodes, he never saw anything from those lives again. Neither of them were quite sure whether to feel relief or grieve over a life that neither of them truly ever knew.

 Hugh rested his head against Paul’s brushing his hairline with a kiss. “I’m right here Paul, and I’m not going anywhere.” They sat like that, resting together as the quiet of the night settled over them, breathing in the night air. They don't speak for a while, they didn't need to. Simply being in the present, the here and now, was the most comfortable place that they could share. 

  Paul often reflects in moments like this that if any of the lives he is witness to can view life the way he does - he hopes they, too, can find as much solace in these moments as he does. But from the lives that he has been witness to, Paul knows better than to make Hugh commit to the promise that he spoke before. “I love you” he eventually says instead.  
  
 “I love you too, Paul.” This is a promise that they both profoundly know to be unequivocal, universal truth.

 

// End

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being along for the ride! Hope you've enjoyed this AU, I've had a lot of fun writing it. Despite knowing absolutely nothing about archaeology or palaeontology lol. 
> 
> If interested in the concepts briefly explored here, I'm happy to say that I'm working on a much longer fic (in the Mirror Universe) that will go further expand on the metaphysical implications surrounding 'the how and the why' - So stay tuned for that! Fair warning - it will be a little bit more bloody. Lol. 
> 
> Again a huge thank you to both @TheWatch and @30MinuteLoop who are both absolutely incredible; who inspired and spurred this on. 
> 
> You can also come find me over at Aphelyons.tumblr.com - I draw Culmets stuff too.


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